New Mexico Section News for February 2011
Hero’s Club
Robert Fox, KA5VRV
Christopher Aas, NB5T
William L Nohrn, N5UNB
Raymond J Caraveo, N5IZV
Evan R. Newlon, WB5HAM
Stuart Simon (Stu) K2QBU
Jess Wright, W5QDW
The “Hero’s club” is a listing of those generous hams who have contributed equipment for our efforts to get radio clubs into the schools and encourage the students to become active hams. The donated equipment will be available to any school Amateur Radio club in the state. A licensed Amateur will be needed as the custodian of the equipment. Welcome to our newest contributor Jess Wright, W5QDW.
***I would like to remind everyone to check out the New Mexico Section web page www.arrl-nm.org. Thanks to Mike Pendley, K5ATM for the design and implementation of the site. . If you are not set up on the site contact Mike Pendley, K5ATM at k5atm@arrl.net.
*** Diane Nihart, KE5UHB, is still working to get the ARRL Teacher’s Institute here in Albuquerque. This is a very important offering by ARRL and we need as much support as we can get. Please contact Diane at dewnihart@comcast.net, or the Section ASM for Education Richard St John, K5RSJ, at rstjohn@q.com.
***Mike Langner, K5MGR, who is our Public Information Coordinator, has prepared a presentation which he gave to the Oasis program in Albuquerque titled “Introduction to Amateur (Ham) Radio”. Oasis is a life-long learning organization for the 50+ set. The presentation was so well received that Mike put it into a CD format with video and audio. This could be used by any club to promote Amateur Radio. Mike will be happy to provide a CD to any group that would like a copy. You can contact Mike at k5mgr@arrl.net.
***CHRIS DRUMMOND, KC5IZR has a new repeater up and running in Rio Rancho. The frequency is 443.700 + offset with a PL of 162.2 Hz. Chris would like to know what his coverage is in the Albuquerque area.
***FAR SCHOLARSHIPS ANNOUNCED – THE FOUNDATION FOR AMATEUR RADIO, INC., a non-profit organization with headquarters in Washington, D.C., plans to administer forty–six (46) scholarships for the academic year 2011 – 2012, to assist licensed Radio Amateurs in the pursuit of higher education. The scholarships are worth $62,950 in aggregate. Licensed Radio Amateurs may compete for these awards.
They must be planning to pursue a full time course of studies beyond high school and be enrolled, or have been accepted for enrollment, at an accredited university, college or technical school. The awards range from $5,000 to $250. To be considered, completed applications must be received by April 15, 2011
Additional information and an application form may be requested by letter or QSL card from:
FAR Scholarships
Post Office Box 911
Columbia, MD 21044-0911
or, via email from dave.prestel@gmail.com.
Applications are also available for download from the Foundation’s web site
http://www.farweb.org/.
***February 13 – High Desert ARC – held a testing session at 10:30 AM at the NW Albuquerque Police Substation (same place the club meets) on Ellison. The club will do a VE testing session before each monthly meeting starting at 10:30 AM. One Tech, Two General and one Extra passed. Marty Soffran, NM5MS, 410-3992
***February 19 – High Desert ARC – held a testing session at 10:30 AM at the NW Albuquerque Police Substation (same place the club meets) on Ellison. The club will do a VE testing session before each monthly meeting starting at 10:30 AM. Four Tech, Four General and one Extra passed. Marty Soffran, NM5MS, 410-3992
***February 19 – High Plains Drifters – Held a ARRL/VEC testing. Session at Manzano Mesa Multigenerational Center, 501 Elizabeth St. SE, Albuquerque, NM 87123. For more information about upcoming testing sessions contact Darryl, NX5W at 505-286-1672 – nx5w@arrl.net
Coming Attractions
***March 15 to 21 – General Class License – Class is $79.00 dollars and includes the manual ($25.00 and exam fee $14.00). Class is dependent on student sign ups. They require at least 5 students minimum. They will be held at the CNM Workforce Training Center. Just West of I-25 and North of Alameda. Class is listed under Public Safety on the catalog and descriptions and registrations may be found at www.cnm.edu.wtc. Frank Warren Sr AB5WJ will be the instructor for this class.
***March 17 – National Weather Service – SKYWARN Spotter Training Class – 1:30 pm & 7:00 p.m. Daniels Leadership Center, NMMI 101 W. College Blvd. Roswell, NM 88201. For more information, please contact: Kerry Jones, NWS, 505-244-9150 x223
*** March 27 – The Mesilla Valley Radio Club (MVRC) will be operating Special Events station K5B in conjunction with the 22nd Annual Bataan Memorial Death March Marathon held at the White Sands Missile Range from 1000Z to 2300Z. The station will operate from the MVRC clubhouse. Information about the event can be found at: http://www.bataanmarch.com. There will be a special K5B QSL card available for any station that requests one. A sample of it will be posted on the K5B Web page as soon as it is finalized and approved by the event’s management. The K5B Web page is: http://www.n5bl.org/bataan. The event was an outstanding success last year. K5B will be operating on or near the following frequencies:
Seventy-five meters: 3.893 Mhz
Forty meters: 7.225 Mhz
Twenty meters: 14.330 Mhz
Fifteen meters: 21.337 Mhz
Requests for K5B QSL cards can be sent to the following address:
Special Events Station K5B
c/o Mesilla Valley Radio Club
P. O. Box 1443
Las Cruces, NM 88004-1443
U.S.A.
***March 25 to 27 – Technician Level Class Friday March 25th 6p-9p, Saturday March 26th 8a-5p, and Sunday March 27 8a-5p Bernalillo County Atrium Building 6840 Second Street NW Albuquerque, NM 87107 – Contact Mike Rose, KE5MJM, 505-610-9563, ms_rose28@msn.com
***April 9 – The 2011 New Mexico QSO Party will take place from 8:00am MDT until 8:00pm MDT, and all Hams across New Mexico are invited and encouraged to participate. Operation will be on HF and 6 meters during the event period…with a particular emphasis on working hams from as many NM counties as possible. We are looking for hams in all 33 counties of New Mexico to participate, whether for a few hours or for the entire 12-hour period. New for 2011, there is a special award waiting for the club whose members submit their logs and accumulate the largest aggregate of points – see the event rules for details.
This year’s event is hosted by the Albuquerque DX Association. Handsome plaques are available along with participation certificates, both suitable for hanging in your shack. Complete details, rules, prize information, and more can be found on the New Mexico QSO Party website at http://pages.swcp.com/~n5zgt/nmqsoparty
***April 16 – High Plains Drifters – ARRL/VEC testing. Manzano Mesa Multigenerational Center, 501 Elizabeth St. SE, Albuquerque, NM 87123. Contact Darryl, NX5W at 505-286-1672 – nx5w@arrl.net
***April 30 – The Albuquerque ARC and the Amateur Radio Caravan Cub will host the annual Spring Tailgate. Location will be in the back parking lot of TransCore, 8600 Jefferson NE, Albuquerque, NM. TransCore is situated between Alameda and Paseo Del Norte, on the East side of Jefferson. Free tailgating & free admission. From “I can’t believe I actually got up this early” to 1 PM.
***May 1, 2011 – Run for the Zoo – Information/volunteers: please contact Ed Ricco, n5li@arrl.net. 247-4866(h); 768-7314(w).
***May 1 – Mesilla Valley ARC Bean Feed – Don’t miss this one folks – the beans are great and the fellowship is even better. A tailgate starts at the usual ridiculous time in the morning and will run till around 1 PM. It will be held at the Club House. For more information contact Vern Vonheeder WV5N, 510-909-0069 vern@wv5n.com or Cash Olsen KD5SSJ, 382-1917 kd5ssj@arrl.net
***May 8 – Horse trails- Watermelon Mountain Pony Club Horse Trials, May 8, tentatively. Cross-country horse event on Albuquerque’s west mesa requiring point-to-point communications around the course for coordination and logistical support. Contact Ed Ricco N5LI, n5li@arrl.net. 247-4866(h); 768-7314(w) for details.
***May 15, 2011 – Santa Fe Century – Information/volunteers: please contact Ed Ricco, n5li@arrl.net. 247-4866(h); 768-7314(w).
***June 4, 2011 – Albuquerque Century/Tour de Cure. – Information/volunteers: please contact Ed Ricco, n5li@arrl.net. 247-4866(h); 768-7314(w).
***June 11 to 19 – General Level Class – 2 weekends Saturday June 11th 8a-5p, Sunday June 12th 8a-5p, Saturday June 18th 8a-5p, and Sunday June 19th 8a-5p Bernalillo County Atrium Building, 6840 Second Street NW Albuquerque, NM 87107 – Contact Mike Rose, KE5MJM, 505-610-9563, ms_rose28@msn.com
***June 25/26 – Field Day – Kits are available at the ARRL web site. The time to plan is NOW!
***July 16 – High Plains Drifters – W5YI/VEC testing. Manzano Mesa Multigenerational Center, 501 Elizabeth St. SE, Albuquerque, NM 87123. Contact Darryl, NX5W at 505-286-1672 – nx5w@arrl.net
***July 26 to August 1 – Technician Class – Class is 79 dollars and includes the manual ($25.00 and exam fee $14.00). Class is dependent on student sign ups. They require at least 5 students minimum. They will be held at the CNM Workforce Training Center, located just west of I-25, and north of Alameda. Class is listed under Public Safety on the catalog and descriptions and registrations may be found at www.cnm.edu.wtc. Frank Warren, Sr., AB5WJ will be the instructor for this class.
***August 5 to 7 – The Rock Mountain Division annual convention will be held at the Sagebrush Inn and Convention Center in Taos, New Mexico. Confirmed vendors include Yaesu, Southwest Antennas and Accessories, DZ Kit and HRO, plus many more. Guest speakers will be Chip Margelli, K7JA, and Riley Hollingsworth, K4ZDH. For more information go to http://www.2011convention.org for more details
***August 7 – August 7, 2011 – La Luz Trail Race. This event will be coordinated by Rees Bevan, WB5DEJ, and/or Jay Miller, W5WHN. Amateurs provide communications support for this annual race up La Luz Trail from positions in the starting area, at the finish, and from trail-side points along the course. Information/volunteers: please contact Ed Ricco, n5li@arrl.net, 247-4866(h); 768-7314(w).
***October 23, 2011 – Duke City Marathon. Albuquerque area amateurs have supported this event for more than 20 years. Tentative plan: The marathon will follow an out-and-back course from downtown Albuquerque north along the Bosque bike path to Paseo del Norte and east to a turnaround point near Edith Blvd. A half marathon and 5K race are included in the event. We will need a substantial number of volunteers to cover rest stops along the course or to shadow race officials, as well as a few bicycle mobile stations. Information/volunteers: please contact Ed Ricco, n5li@arrl.net, 247-4866(h); 768-7314(w).
***August 23 to 29 – General Class License – Class is 79 dollars and includes the manual ($25.00 and exam fee $14.00). Class is dependent on student sign ups. They require at least 5 students minimum. They will be held at the CNM Workforce Training Center, located just west of I-25, and north of Alameda. Class is listed under Public Safety on the catalog and descriptions and registrations may be found at www.cnm.edu.wtc. Frank Warren, Sr., AB5WJ will be the instructor for this class.
***October 15 – High Plains Drifters – W5YI/VEC testing. Manzano Mesa Multigenerational Center, 501 Elizabeth St. SE, Albuquerque, NM 87123. Contact Darryl, NX5W at 505-286-1672 – nx5w@arrl.net.
***November 19 – High Plains Drifters – W5YI/VEC testing. Manzano Mesa Multigenerational Center, 501 Elizabeth St. SE, Albuquerque, NM 87123. Contact Darryl, NX5W at 505-286-1672 – nx5w@arrl.net
The Net Counts for February are:
NET NAME CONTACTS QSTs
NM Roadrunner Traffic. Net: 1200 104
NM Breakfast Club: 1208 95
Caravan Club Net: 68 4
Yucca Net: 598 48
Four Corners Net: 525 36
Valencia County. ARA Net: 64 13
Rusty’s Raiders Net: 411 62
High Desert ARC Net: 16 3
SCAT Net: 833 102
220 Ragchewers Net: 91 0
40-Meter Anchor Net: 51 0
(Many thanks to Don Grab, K5BIS, for keeping track of all the nets and reporting each month.)
If you do not see your net here send your end of month numbers to Don Grab, K5BIS! I would like to see the ARES nets represented as well.
For a listing of all nets in New Mexico, please go to http://www.arrl-nm.org
ARRL Silent Key Report, February 2011
Name, Call, and Address of Silent Key:
There were no silent keys this month, however Don Pierce’s (W5MTX) wife passed away on 2/26. Our thoughts and prayers are with Don and his family.
Several club newsletters are sent to me and I greatly appreciate receiving them. I have also received information from people for inclusion in the newsletter. Be sure to give me all the information. Don’t assume I know names, calls, dates and locations. They are all important. This is your Section and what you do is important. If your club does not have a PIO please get one and let me know the important things your club is doing. Have a great month.
Don – W5FHA
Thought For The Day: ‘The happiest of people don’t necessarily have the best of everything; They just make the most of everything they have.
